1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accessory tool assembly for a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to an accessory tool assembly for a vacuum cleaner, in which an octopus-leg like tool, or crevice tool, with a plurality of flexible suction tubes is detachably coupled with a brush tool so as to clean a small crevice and reduce inconvenience of exchanging the octopus-leg like tool, or crevice tool, and the brush tool with each other depending on a place to be cleaned.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows the constitution of a general vacuum cleaner. As shown in the figure, a main body 10 of the vacuum cleaner houses a suction means (not shown) for sucking air in a room and a filtering means (not shown) for filtering out foreign substances from the air sucked by the suction means. A suction hose 12 is connected to the main body 10.
The suction hose 12 is made of a flexible material, and an operating handle 14 for controlling an operation of the vacuum cleaner is connected to one end of the suction hose 12. Then, the operating handle 14 is connected to a suction nozzle 18 through an extension tube 16.
The suction nozzle 18 sucks foreign substances from a place to be cleaned by means of suction power generated by the suction means in the main body. Since the suction nozzle 18 has a bottom face in the form of a broad and substantially flat plate, however, there is a structural limitation in applying the suction power to places such as upholstery or window frames.
A variety of accessory tools have been used to solve the problem. For example, typical accessory tools include a blade-type tool with a pointed inlet end, a brush tool with a brush attached at an inlet thereof, and the like.
As shown in FIG. 2a, the blade-type tool 20 comprises a pointed inlet 22, and a connecting portion 24 to be connected to one end of the extension tube 16 (refer to FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 2b, a brush tool 30 comprises an inlet 32 formed at a front portion thereof to suck outside air, a brush 34 provided along a periphery of a front face of the inlet 32, and a connecting portion 36 to be connected to the end of the extension tube 16 (refer to FIG. 1).
In order to perform cleaning by using the accessory tool such as the blade-type tool 20 or the brush tool 30, the suction nozzle 18 connected to the end of the extension tube 16 shown in FIG. 1 is first separated therefrom, and the accessory tool is connected to the end of the extension tube 16.
Therefore, even a deep portion in a small crevice such as a window frame can be cleaned by using the blade-type tool 20, and the brush 34 provided at the brush tool 30 facilitates suction of foreign substances from upholstery or a sofa which it is difficult to clean by using the suction nozzle 18.
However, there are problems in the conventional accessory tools for the vacuum cleaner constructed as such, as follows.
First, the blade-type tool 20 is useful for cleaning of a crevice, such as the window frame or a chink in a door, larger than the inlet 22. However, if a crevice such as in a keyboard of a computer is smaller than the inlet 22, the inlet 22 cannot come into contact with a deepest portion of the crevice. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that since strong suction power is not transferred up to the deepest portion, the cleaning cannot be performed effectively.
Further, although the blade-type tool 20 can be used for the cleaning of such a crevice, it is not effective in the cleaning of upholstery and the like. On the contrary, although the brush tool 30 is suitable for the cleaning of the upholstery and the like, it is not suitable for the cleaning of the small crevice. Accordingly, a user should separate the blade-type tool 20 or brush tool 30 from the end of the extension tube 16 depending on features of places to be cleaned and then connect the brush tool 30 or blade-type tool 20 to the end of the extension tube 16. Thus, there is a disadvantage in that its use is troublesome.